Illustration: a bowl of penne in pink tomato cream sauce with basil on a checked cloth by a window of geraniums, with a flute of blush-pink Prosecco.

No. 02 · Primo

Cooking with ProseccoPenne al Prosecco

Name: Penne al Prosecco
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2/3 cup (150 mL) Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC Brut; 14 oz (400 g) penne rigate; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp (30 g) butter; 1 shallot; 2 garlic cloves; 1/2 tsp chilli flakes; 1/4 cup (60 g) tomato paste; 3/4 cup (200 g) tomato passata; 2/3 cup (150 mL) heavy cream; 1/2 cup (50 g) Parmigiano Reggiano; basil leaves and salt

The vodka pasta, made with Prosecco

10min prep

25min cook

1bottle

The famous pink vodka sauce, with a glass of Brut Prosecco where the vodka used to be: toasted tomato paste, chilli, cream and Parmigiano, tossed with penne and a ladle of the pasta water.

By Michael Goldstein · 5 min read

Bella Principessa · prosecco.com/blog/penne-al-prosecco-recipe/

Penne al Prosecco

35 min · serves 4 · easy

Serves

Pour it

⅔ cupBella Principessa Pinkchilled; for the sauce
14 ozPenne rigate
2 tbspOlive oil
2 tbspButter
1shallotfinely chopped
2garlic clovesfinely chopped
½ tspChilli flakesmore if you like it hot
¼ cupTomato pastedouble concentrated
¾ cupTomato passataor finely crushed tomatoes
⅔ cupHeavy creamdouble cream in the UK
½ cupParmigiano Reggianofinely grated, plus more to serve
Basil leaves and salt
The rest of the bottlecold, for the table

Made with the Gold, our Brut: the classic Penne al Prosecco. Swap in the Pink, our Prosecco DOC Rosé, also Brut: the Pinot Noir in it gives the sauce a red‑berry edge, and a pink to match.

Made with the Pink, our Prosecco DOC Rosé, also Brut: the Pinot Noir in it gives the sauce a red‑berry edge, and a pink to match. With the Gold, it’s brighter and more lemony.

Tap each step as you go.

Buon appetito.

Find Bella Principessa near you Buy online

Why Prosecco instead of vodka?

Vodka adds bite but no flavour. Prosecco adds the bite, plus acidity to cut the cream and fruit that loves tomato. Bella Principessa is Brut2, with almost no sugar to turn the sauce sticky.

Which Prosecco for a tomato cream sauce?

A dry one. We pour the Pink: the Pinot Noir in our Rosé gives the sauce a red‑berry edge. The Gold makes it brighter and more lemony.

GoldDOC Brut

Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC Rosé Brut

PinkDOC Rosé Brut

The Story

The vodka pasta,
without the vodka.

Everybody’s favourite pink sauce.

Penne alla vodka swept through restaurants in the 1980s, and nobody agrees who invented it: Italy or New York, depending on who’s telling it1. Everybody agrees it’s delicious.

The vodka was never the point.

It’s there to sharpen the sauce, and it tastes of nothing. Swap in a glass of Brut Prosecco and you keep the sharpness and gain the fruit. Same dish, better manners.

Your turn.

Thirty‑five minutes, one pan of water, one pan of sauce. Pour the Pink into the pan and the rest of the bottle into four cold glasses.

From the kitchen

“Whenever there’s Prosecco open, I cook with it. Bella Principessa, ti amo! We love cooking with Prosecco.”

Bucci, our friend at Frantoio, 397 King’s Road, Chelsea. He cooks with it at Frantoio when a dish calls for it, and at home when he’s cooking for himself.
Book a table at Frantoio →

In the Kitchen

Four ways
to spoil it.

Errori da Evitare

Bella Principessa Social Club

Rushing the paste

Raw tomato paste tastes tinny. Cook it until it darkens.

Cream into a boil

It can split. Low heat first, then stir it in.

Draining the pasta dry

The starchy water makes the sauce cling. Save a mugful.

Extra Dry Prosecco

Tomato is sweet enough. Brut keeps it savoury.

Buon appetito.

Variations

Same pan,
another night.

✻HotterA whole teaspoon of chilli, and Calabrian peppers on top.

●With prawnsToss them in with the cream; they cook in 3 minutes.

◯RigatoniAny ridged tube catches the sauce: rigatoni, paccheri, mezze maniche.

×2For eightDouble it in a wide pan. Two bottles: pan and table included.

Penne questions.

Can you use Prosecco instead of vodka in vodka sauce?

Yes. Vodka sharpens the sauce without adding flavour; Prosecco sharpens it and adds fruit. Use a Brut so the sauce doesn’t turn sweet.

Does the alcohol cook off?

Not all of it. Simmering removes much of it, but some always stays. Cooking for children? Use stock and a squeeze of lemon instead.

Which pasta shape is best?

Penne rigate, or any ridged tube. The ridges hold the sauce.

What should I drink with it?

The rest of the bottle. Pink with a pink sauce looks as good as it tastes.

Please enjoy responsibly: 21+ only, and plan a safe way home.

Sources

Written by

Michael Goldstein

Founder and Creative Director, Bella Principessa

He believes the best introductions happen over a glass, and that time with family and friends, old and new, is the real luxury. He writes here about the brand and the people who share it.

Read his story →

Next Course